About Nicola
Nicola has been variously involved in the Health Industry for over 20 years, and has a passion to educate people to become self-determining with their health care.
Beginning with an interest and study in Homeopathy and Nutrition in the early eighties she became involved in Corporate Training in New Zealand, in 1988. There she traveled extensively working as a Motivational Speaker and Product Trainer for a large International Health and Nutrition Company.
On migrating to Australia in 1989 she continued in the field of Company Training with specialised health care products before studying Remedial Massage and Sports Injury Therapies at the Australasian College of Natural Therapies in 1994 and 1995 This combined her two great loves, sports and caring for people.
Nicola completed almost 2000 hours of volunteer work with various sports clubs and organisations during that time, endeavouring to learn from all quarters of the industry, and worked at the College Clinic for a period of 18 months prior to the completion of her studies.
This included work with both professional sports teams, palliative care groups and disabled people, and the National Athletics Grand Prix of 1993 and 1994.
Since graduation, she has pursued the quest for knowledge, developing electrical therapy techniques for clients with Spina Bifida and Cerebral Palsy, and employing integrated techniques with ultrasound, soft tissue massage, Myofascial and Trigger Point work to meet the needs of a very diverse client base.
This work, and her work with cancer sufferers has necessitated further training and close involvement with many other health care providers.
Nicola believes that client care should be a partnership and stresses the importance of client feedback to optimise results. She is a contributor to the Massage Australia magazine, has helped to develop training programmes for Renew Life Massage Academy and desires that the Massage Industry become more scientific in it presentation and approach. Programmes studied included much work by Benny Vaughan, former head of massage for the American track and field team, Russian Stimulation Therapy for muscle and bone regeneration and the work of Drs Travell and Symons with Myofascial Release.
She has run her own practice full time since 1994, and founded Integrity Consultants in September 1999. This practice has a client base of approximately 600 patients and the caseload is approximately 40 clients per week.
In September and October 2000 she was a volunteer massage therapist for both the Olympic and Paralympic Games and in November, accompanied the AIS cycle team as therapist during the Commonwealth Bank Cycle Classic. She has also worked at Wheelchair Tennis events since 1999 and intends to continue with these athletes into the future.
This combined with teaching injury prevention in the Third World, particularly in Africa, addressing seminars and teaching the prevention of injury is work which provides great challenges and opportunities..
Nicola does a great deal of rehabilitation of a long term nature. It is for this reason that she considers workplace massage therapy an important addition to an organisation. Her work with wheelchair and Special Olympics athletes has added a new dimension to the practice she is so passionate about.
As founding Director of Integrity Consultants, Nicola desires to accomplish a number of aims.
First, and perhaps most personally compelling, she desires to teach both clients and practitioners the importance of preempting the cycle of stress and pain through preventative measures such as massage, stretching, exercise and appropriate ergonomics as well as the benefits of integrated massage therapy techniques in overcoming an injury once it occurs.
Second, through the success of Integrity Consultants she wishes to continue her Development Partnership Programme in the Third World. Says Nicola, "The idea that one person can change the world is something I passionately believe in. However, I also know the truth of Synergy - where the sum of the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. I really want to see the world change for the better, and having travelled as much as I have to slums and country areas in Africa I know that even a little bit can make a huge difference.
As Integrity grows so will my ability to make the changes in peoples' lives that will ultimately make a change to a generation."